Introduce yourself to us
Hi, my name is Nina Maria Burke and I am a 22 year old English Actress who is currently living in Los Angeles. I grew up in a small town called Horsham which is in West Sussex in England. I was extremely lucky to have grown up with a very supportive and loving family, consisting of my mum, dad and older brother. I am eternally grateful for them and wouldn’t be where I am on my journey without them.
Why did you move to Los Angeles?
I knew from a young age that I wanted to travel. I was very lucky to see some of the world growing up, and I never want to stop exploring. When I was graduating college in England, we had students come in who went to university in France. I remember being so unsure on whether to go straight to university or to take a gap year and travel. This made me reconsider and realize I was kind of able to do both at the same time. So I went and I told my Dad I was going to study in France. He laughed and said “Ok, one small problem. You don’t speak French”. This was a valid point, I do not speak French, so then the thought came up of going to a country that is great for acting, and speaks English. Obviously, that’s America.
My first thought was New York as I had always had such a fascination with living there. I went to visit and some things became apparent. At the time, I was under 21, so I wouldn’t be able to hang out in a bar. Coffee was very expensive and there wasn’t really any beach or place to hang out other than the parks. I also am not a fan of the cold and a lot of housing was off campus and required long walks in the snow. So then it finally hit me, Los Angeles! I have no idea how it took me so long to think of it. But when it was in my head, it was set. So I applied to schools, got accepted, got scholarships and off I went.
I have finished my education now and been working in the industry for almost a year. I have not once regretted my choice in coming out here and I would like to stay for the foreseeable future. I love it here.
What have you achieved in the performing arts industry so far?
A lot of my achieved have been with “Fi Steps” back in England. Here, I was able to perform in some incredible places, including: The Royal Albert Hall, Disneyland Paris, Disneyland Paris Pre-parade, Indigo at the 02 Arena, The Hawth Theatre, The Capitol Theatre and many more! I also performed in “Can You Dance?” As well as at Miss Pole UK. I have taken part in numerous plays with lead roles, some of which being; Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story, Born Yesterday, Still Life, Uncommon Women. I was also in the incredible pantomime of “Beauty and The Beast”.
Where did you study the arts?
Well, I began dance classes with ballet when I was only 3 years old. I kept this up and did Grades but I didn’t have the kind of love for it that was going to take me anywhere. When I was 7 I found “Fi Steps” which was a dance school I stayed with until I moved to Los Angeles when I Was 19. During my time there I did some incredible things as previously mentioned.
It was really in Fi Steps that I explored my love for performing and decided to take acting more seriously. I had done acting classes from the age of 5 but then I decided to take GCSE drama, where I achieved an A*. I then went on to Northbrook College where I achieved a distinction in my Extended Diploma of Acting. From there I took an unexpected year out, due to COVID and being unable to travel. Then I began my American acting journey at “The American Academy of Dramatic Arts”.
What are your future plans?
Hopefully in the upcoming months I will receive my 01 visa for acting. From there I would love to get an agent and manager and see where that takes me. So far I am getting quite a lot of work self-submitting, but they are all smaller roles or background. I think that having an agent will boost me to a new level where I will be able to audition and hopefully book larger scale roles. As long as I keep acting, which I will, I will be happy with whatever comes my way.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninamburke/
